ICC hopeful of reaching negotiated settlement

London: International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday night said that it was hopeful of reaching a 'negotiated settlement' with the BCCI in the next two days although it ruled out any compromise on the contentious issue of batsman Virender Sehwag's inclusion in the Indian team for the first Test against England at Mohali.Reminding that Friday remained the absolute deadline for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to resolve the issue, ICC spokesman Jonathan Hamus said, "Both ICC CEO Michael Speed and BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya are having conversations. We are focussing on these conversations and are hopeful of achieving a solution by Friday." Asked whether both sides were moving towards a solution, Hamus said, "I would say conversations took place. There will be further conversations. I hope we will reach a solution by Friday deadline." However, there was no softening of stand by the ICC as far as the controversy pertaining to Sehwag, who has been handed down a ban of one Test match for what the match referee Mike Denness termed as over appealing. "The situation regarding Sehwag's ban is non-negotiable," Hamus said categorically. "But still we are hoping to achieve a solution by Friday," he added. Extras:BCCI snubs ICC, Sehwag picked BCCI, ICC not on collision course: Dalmiya I was misunderstood: Denness, was he?